Eric Beinhocker
Eric Beinhocker is Professor of Public Policy Practice at the Blavatnik School of Government and Executive Director of the Institute for New Economic Thinking at the Oxford Martin School. He is also a Supernumerary Fellow at Oriel College and an External Professor at the Santa Fe Institute. His work focuses on complexity economics, economic paradigm change, inequality, climate and sustainability.
Beinhocker is the author of The Origin of Wealth: The Radical Remaking of Economics and What It Means for Business and Society, which drew on ideas from evolutionary biology, complexity theory and other disciplines to challenge conventional approaches to economics.
His current work explores how economic thinking can evolve to address the challenges of the twenty-first century, including climate change, technological disruption, inequality and democratic resilience. He argues that economies should be understood as complex, evolving systems shaped by human behaviour, institutions and collective learning.
In 2026, Beinhocker and entrepreneur Nick Hanauer launched Markets Built for Humans, outlining their concept of “Market Humanism”: an alternative economic paradigm centred on human flourishing rather than narrow measures of efficiency or GDP. Their work asks what an economy designed around people, planet and democracy might look like.
Before joining Oxford, Beinhocker spent 18 years at McKinsey & Company, including leadership roles in its Strategy, Climate Change and Sustainability practices. His work combines academic research with practical experience of economic and institutional change.
